Your Dog Rescue Stories

Sunday, April 05, 2015

Petting Versus Praise: We Say Both!

First, a very Happy Easter and Joyous Passover to all of our friends!

We also hope you enjoy this article from one of our favorite holistic veterinarians, Dr. Karen Becker.
Dr. Becker always explores fascinating topics and this one is no different: What does your dog crave the most—petting or praise? Well, this experiment, conducted by University of Florida researchers and published in the journal Behavioral Processes appears to conclusively show that dogs prefer...(spoiler alert) petting! In fact, it was even close.

The experiment used both family dogs and shelter dogs and demonstrated that every single dog involved in the study stuck close to those dolling out the petting, even if that person was not their owner! These canines gravitated to the human touch rather than the human voice every time. Read Dr. Becker's synopsis of the study to understand what this means for you and your pooch.

And while you're at it, check out this compilation of dogs enjoying, er, demanding, some good old-fashioned petting time. Note to self: Probably not a good idea to reward a dog with what they enjoy most—petting—when they engage in bad behavior— growling... What do you think?